Fall Shipping Basics: What’s Hot in Autumn

“Fall is in the air” is something we like to say this time of year as the air becomes a little crisper, the leaves start to change color, and popular autumn flavors like pumpkin spice start rolling out. With the changing of seasons also comes the changing of products and produce that need to be shipped to fall lovers across the globe.

Fall shipping means truckloads of watermelons are traded for truckloads of pumpkins, pallets of tomatoes make way for pallets of fresh turkeys, and more fun-size candy shipments begin making the trek to stores in preparation for Halloween, less than six weeks away!

In this blog, we wanted to talk about the fun behind fall shipping: what we see more of in the autumn months and how these fall favorites make their way from the ground or the factory to homes across the world.

Fall Shipping: Foods

When flourishing corn fields become corn mazes, it’s also the time that pumpkins start to plump on the vine. We start to see more truckload and less-than-truckload shipments of pumpkins, gourds, and certain types of squash from our produce customers. Fruits like apples, pears, grapes, citrus, and cherries become popular, shipped from the grower to produce markets and grocery stores. Other cold weather crops like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are shipping more frequently from the East Coast when fall begins to peak.

Halloween Candy

Who didn’t love putting on a costume and collecting candy from neighbors far and wide? Americans last year spent more than $2.5 billion on candy for Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation. That breaks down to more than 600 million pounds of confection, equivalent to the weight of six Titanic ships. If all of that was packed into trucks, that would be more than 1400 full truckloads. Retailers from coast to coast are stocking up on all types of candy to get their share of the “holiday goodies.”

Americans also gobble up more turkeys in the fall because of Thanksgiving. According to CNN, about 46 million turkeys are eaten for the big holiday. In 2011, that equated to 736 million pounds of turkey. If we do the same math as above, that’s more than 1700 truckloads of turkeys trekking across the states for the big meal.

Of course the American Thanksgiving meal isn’t just turkey. The meal involves mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, rolls, sweet potatoes – you name it. In 2010, the brand Ocean Spray alone sold 72 million cans of cranberry sauce during the holiday season. Each year, billions of pounds of sweet potatoes are produced and more than a billion pumpkins are grown in the United States.

Christmas Trees

Another commodity that isn’t hitting the roadways in mid-August is fresh Christmas trees but, just a couple short months later, there are approximately 25-30 million real trees sold, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. These trees are grown in all 50 states and Canada. Some farms allow you to cut your own tree and take it with you, while others offer to ship straight to your door. Other farms choose to ship their trees to bigger chain stores.

Holiday Packaging and Decorations

Believe it or not, the holiday rush is already underway. Big stores like Walmart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels have Christmas decorations, gift wrap, shiny tins, and lights lining store shelves right next to the skeletons and ghouls.

Early Bird Gets the Sale

For traditionalists, holiday shopping no longer starts Black Friday or even Thanksgiving Day. In 2010, Best Buy began their Christmas sales November 1, with other department stores following suit just one day later. Since then, holiday decorations and retail campaigns for Christmas have crept right alongside Halloween costumes and candy.

The earlier sales mean earlier access to consumers with their specific holiday shopping budgets and more shipments of wrapping paper, ribbon, packaging, decorative tins, and chocolate, all of which we can help arrange. Trinity Logistics will be busy helping farms and factories ship their holiday wares to shelves, non-profits, and online shoppers very soon!

If you enjoy any of these products regularly, it arrived to store shelves thanks to a truck!

If your company produces any of these favorites, we can help make fall shipping simple. Just tell us a little bit about your shipment and we’ll give you a quote!

Need a Quote?

Tell us about your shipment. We’ll build a custom quote for you. If you like it, we’ll arrange it! It’s that simple.

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Trinity Logistics is a Team Member Owned leading 3PL (third party logistics) company specializing in freight arrangement and supply chain solutions. With 35 years of experience and a relationship-driven team, Trinity is the 3PL company you can rely on.